Radiator structure



RADIATOR STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTUR De@ l5, 1936. c. J, scHLAr-MAN Filed July 11"?, 1955 N m F A I H r.- d. D al R u. n. lllll ll .l d. U I| ||.l.ll||.||Ml.| ||||A|H Inll. L I hun `ll|l Q 2 n I n" VWL rufmrmwl M m.. MWMWMM WMMIMMIMMT Hl. zf, H Hy @MMX .ll U p 6U. muy e HV1 |l l l U w. wwmmmwmw ,wllumwn l n u A wln Twfmumm). w UQ Ll I I 1 I\L. JHM HUMIDE lil Ll A` M,. 3 t. 7 EH` AmI ME 6 mm EJ. o, E V. 2 t Nn. im h 444/ s 7 F 2 w\\\V\\\2. Ll LE NE5 Aww M w v 1 m7, L w W. H R 1 CO@ ST .md JDM .Ai CRF Patented Dec. 15, 1936 y RADIATOR Clifford J. sehlofman,

signor to Warren AWebster & Company,

STRUCTURE i den, N. J., a corporationofNw Jev'lsiyi;V I

` Applicationv July 17,

8 Claims.

Thisl invention relates 'to radiatorv structures, -andhas particular reference to steam heating ysystems utilizing concealed 'radiation such as employed to heatndwellinga offices, and the like.

"I'heinvention further relates to radiator structures of the concealedconvector type incorpo- -rating improved valves and thermostatictraps which provideuexibilityin connection to the supply and return pipes and which provide adjjustable meansadapted' forplumbing and supporting thefheating element.

YDuring the construction of dwellings and other buildings, stea'msupply pipes and return pipes jare roughed-in1 prefatory to connection of radiators, when the heating system installation work is being done in thebuilding, and, in practice, it is frequently found that unless particular `attention has been paid to the location of such pipesto the -radiator manufacturers specification, the pipes fdo not accuratelyf align with the radiator piping connections and' thus serious' diculties are en- ;countered whenthe radiators are being set in po- Misalignment in piping is most troublesome in installations using' straightway pattern traps and yvalves, which are generally employed -at the pres- 'ent time, for convector type radiators. Also,in vbuildings-'having concrete floors, it isnecessar'y i'to install'sleeves at 'time of pouring of loors to r'provide passageways for stub-up pipe pieces but Aeven though these may be accurately located preliminaryi-to .pouring of floor they are most frequently foundwout-rof line' after concrete forms are removed because of the rough character of Ythe work involved'with its attendant shifting of sleeves, the dispatch with which pouring isexecuted and the lack of coordination between various 'sub-contractors'and tradesmen. In the circumstances, the steamtter, at extra expense and labor, mustchip out openings in the concrete which will permit centering stub-up pipe pieces accurately. Again, because of architectural motif, radiators are usually centered beneath Win:- doW openings. This xeslocation of radiator piping' connections. Occasionally, however, structural floor beams conflict with stub-up pipe pieces making it necessary to resort to special and costly arrangements, such as elevating radiator above floor to permit offsetting piping above beam,:etc.': kf The present.. invention has for its primary object the construction ofa radiator structure vincorporating a trap' and valve which permit preliminary roughi'ngin of piping without regard for .accuracy'in the 'locationof stub-up pipe 1935, serial No. 31,;:2592 Y age `ofi'y condensate. "1 1 1 f A'sii11'furth'erobjeotof ihe'invention is to provide 'arad-iator 4'structure "comprising a sheet i metal `Aenclosure, fa'ifheating l'lement, a valve and trap so"constructed 7thaLt stresses, normally imposed onheating eIeme'ntV'and/or enclosure, due tol inherent weight` 'of piping orvset-up because of expansion 'or lcontractiontof piping due to tem- 'peraturechangesg' vare 'absorbed through valve andY trap supporting members." A still further ob'jct `of 'the invention is to pro'- Avide an' improved y'valve' and thermostatic trap for -use withk oonoealedjoiiveet'or type radiators.

f According'tothe invention; the"radiator structurecomprises1 an'f."enelosiire'z,V a heating element, iai steam 'supplytvalveglandi a thermostatic trap', the inlets of said valve and trap being at substan- Ytii'i'lly!right''angle's t'o their' outlets, said inlet and vvoutlet"l connections provided with ball-jointed 'means vtfor lii'ejxiiiiiii'yin' connection and adjust- 'able feet* on `said valve' and trap to plumbl and tsupport irieiiedtingy eminent* f TheIdrawiii'gs'l-illustratefan embodiment of the invent'ior and the views thereinare as follows:

" Fig. ,1I ris "a front elevation of the radiator structure connected withftlie'sllpply and return pipes, `"and one-half offsarid'zviewlshows the use of a basewboardfat the loase-ofl-'thffradiator while the other -side'siiovv's the usefof 'ameidiiic grille, l 1

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken on the Fig. 3 is verticalsectional viewof the therlmosta'tic tr'ap'iifthparts thereof shown kin ele- 'Vat'rf l f Fig isI anndview 'of the same,

" "Fig 5'fis`` a op 'plan View thereof, f

Fig. 6jisa-'very l sectional View of the steam "valve ,with apart'thereofinrelevationy and shows the operating hondieeondeeied with the valve stem',

"Fig" fisJfa 'Side view of themsame with the valve sten' shown lin section,

Fig. 8 is a top and plan view thereof.

i'll

In the structure shown, the heating' element I2 comprises the pipes or tubes I3 connecting the headers I4 at each end of the same. The heating tubes are provided with metallic -flns= I6 extending continuously between -baiiles `AI 1 .which guide the flow of air through said ns, thereby assuring the heating of all air.

The heating element is located preferably within the chamber I8 and the opening `in` the upper end of v thechamberfis provided with -a grille I9 while theopeningat'the bottom of1 said chamber is provided with; agrille .2| or. with a base-board 22 ;having anyarcheddnlet Aopening as shown at 23, as preferred.

The bottomof; each'o f gt;he headers has -a pipe tapped hole 24 forgconnectionelwithrthe supply Valve 26 at one side and with the thermostatic trap 21 at the other side. Y

In thesetting oistub-,up pieces orconnection with vthe valve and; trap.; it has heretofore been the practiceto endeavor to align'the samewith the pipe threaded openings ,24fin-thefheaders, but due to many inaccuraciesiinthelocation of these stub-up pieces serious diflicultles-.were encountered when connection-,was tcbemadewith the straightwaytrap, valve and `f radisltor.

In the presentvinvention,`the enclosure. with heating element comprising the tubes I3,- headers` I4A and baffles 'I'| isf-conventional,and--no claims are made `-tofany inventionfinconnection with this element per'y se.

`The improved -tghermcstatic-ytrap is ishown, in

Figs. 3, land 5and comprises abody :having an inner wall Y.23 dividlng the ,'interiors-of' said body into chambers-I =and;32. Thigwallyhas an opening 33 provided `Wfithaseat 3 4 fo r a needle vaive 36 which said needlevalveisontrolled by a thermostatic element. 31.-

The upper end 4o fY `the fbcdyr ls providedwih' a tubular portion138 4having va .cgnvexend 33 terminating in a `.screwthreadedparticu 14h while threaded end 43 and-an in neif;y inclinedgfaced -ange 44, cooperate s; with the. convex end. .3f3 of the tubular part .s s offsaidbody-.f and saidfparts are adjusted and clampedA into positionby means of the union nut- 46.as,- sh0w n.in.Fig. 3. 'l2' hel connecting member hasfinternaldugsf 45 whereby a spud wrench .may-be inserted for screwingthe said member intothe pipe-threaded opening t24 in the header I4.l j

The bottom of said body islikewisegprcvided with ahorizontal,extending;circular fpart; 41 which has, its -end formed in exactly the same manner'as the circular part 38 and is provided with a female nipple` connection 48 providing with the uniorijniit?-4)A a ball-joint having -the same structurelas that; just-previously described.

The bottomv fjthe-'bodylB-.is also provided with lateral` extndingiugs v5I provided with tapped holes 52 for receiving screw threaded feet 53` which said feet lhave heads 54 providing means for adjusting the' sai'difeet ,with respect to said lugs.

The valve shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 comprises a body 56 having a ball connection 51 at its upper end, precisely the same as the ball connection at the upper end of the tubular portion 38 of the trap shown in Fig. 3. This valve is provided with an upper chamber 58 and lower chamber 59, with a port 6I between the same, and controlledrby the valvestructure 62. This valve structure i'svoperated by'means of the valve stem 63 which is jointed at 64 and the'parts are -normally held together by means of a U-shaped Vspring 66 while an operating knob 61 is connected toy the end of said Valve stem by means of an internal friction spring 68, so that said knob, or handle, may be removed from the end of 4the vvalve stem* for mounting the valve in position.

Theflower chamber 59 has two oppositely positioned iiuid inlets 69 and 1I, arranged so that pipingconnections may be made from either side of .the-valve.. This valve is provided with a male andferr 1ale.ball-jointl unionvconnection 12 for operatively connecting-:the `valve to a steam supply pipe. 'Ihe bottomoffthe valve is also provided lwithllateral lugs :15 havingscrew threaded openings "16 for .the .adjustable mounting -of screw threaded feet 'I'I vwhich are thev same fas the =feet53 used-onthe1`trap Ishownfin Figs. 3, .4 and 5. i

Referring now toFig. 1, the-stub-up pieces A and B represent respectively the-supply and return pipes. These rpipes, `in practice, are cut vdown to -their proper heights Aand threaded; An

elbow 13 isscrewed on to the end-of eachfof said pipes and nipples ,/14; cut tosuitable. length asV necessary, are screwedl into said-'elbowsand into' -the.-female endsr12ayand 48frespective1y Vof the lvalve andftrapunion nipples.

-AIn Fig. 1, the steam supply pipeA being-nearest-the right'fend oil-theradiaton` this type .is

known as a fright hand supply. In practice, steamsupply` pipes may-be either right or left hand, depending upon preference or circumstance.

`Itwillfbe'seenthatifthe steain=-supply pipeA ,were at the left hand endofthe structure ofFig. 1, thetrap `could be conveniently'-placed and without Achange-to the rig-ht; but i on account .lof the valve stem 63.*- in order .to connectthe said valve lat fthe leit` hand of the 4radiator. it would f,

be necessary 'toremove" the male and female union connection lz-fromitheoutlet-in whichy it is showninFig 1, viz.v=69., and thread'it into the opening 1I.

. Of course, it will beunderstood-that the vunf used opening.69 or 'Il wi1l.be#closed by a plug-80 (see Fig. 2)

When heating-systems arebeing installed, the

steam'tter roughs-in the piping rst, that is,

all piping is completed except that'. the radiators With the type of--radiatorstructure herein disclosed, no regard -need be-ftaken for. the llocation of these stubfuppipe pieces A'and B except approximate, which greatly simplifies roughing-in work or location of stub-up pipe pieces can be selected, ifpreferred,l without 4regard forradiator dimensions.

When the contractor isready to install the ra.` d1ators,- the enclosure C isfnailed intofposition .and valve .26 andtrapl are connected to the headers of the heating element with the valve on the end nearest the steam supply stub-up A and the trap on the other end, The pitch or setting of each radiator is established generally by means of physical dimensions, the trap being approximately one-half inch less in height than the valve. and accurate adjustment is then made by means of the feet 53 on the trap and ll on the valve.

To complete the piping connections, the steam fitter-measures the distance from the stub pieces A and B to the ball-joint union connections [i8 and '52a and cuts pipe nipples M to suit.

The valve stem 63 is jointed. to provide means for installing the radiator structure in the arched inlet opening 23 of the base-board 22 and the handle or knob 6l is removably connected to the end or" the stem in order to provide for the extension of said stem through the grille 2! when such closure is used.

It will be readily seen that with the type of tra-p1 and valve disclosed herein, the means for supporting the radiator or heating element is entirely divorced from the enclosure. This simplifies the entire construction and makes all enclosures interchangeable for hand, Whereas enclosures must be constructed especially for hand ii support is part of the enclosure. In the latter case, building construction is quite often delayed because fabrication oi enclosures cannot be started until hand oi each radiator is determined from the piping arrangement.

In the valve and trap shown, the ball-joint unions are employed to permit gradingof the radiator or heating element and pipe laterals with valve and trap in plumb position. This gives added flexibility to installation as the steam tter can install piping plumb, whereas if ordinary unions were employed the piping would have to be installed at an angle in order to make up the joint at the connections to the valve and the trap. It will be obvious that this angle varies for each length of radiator involved.

Oi course, the radiator structure comprising the heating element with the novel valve and trap as illustrated and described herein may be varied in many ways without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. In a radiator structure, an enclosure of substantially cuboid shape provided with an air inlet extending transversely across the lower portion thereof and an air outlet extending transversely across the upper portion thereof, a heat radiating unit mounted Within said enclosure inwardly of said air inlet and accessible therethrough, said heat radiating unit comprising a pair of tubular headers with interconnecting finned tubes, said tubular headers having piping connections at right angles to said tubes, a steam supply valve and a thermostatic trap having inlets and outlets at substantially right angles, said inlets and outlets being provided with universal pipe connecting means having ball jointed unions each comprising a flanged nipple, a ball member and a ilanged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating flange faces of the nipple and nut contact annularly regardless of alignment of the nipple and ball member, said steam supply valve and thermostatic trap having their outlet and inlet respectively communicating directly with said piping connections in said tubular headers, and means on said steam sup-ply valve and thermostatic trap to support and grade said heat radiating unit, saidf steam supply valve inlet and said thermostatic trap outlet providing for connection tothe supply `and return piping respectively of a heating system.

2. In a radiator structure, an enclosure stantially cuboid shape provided with an air inlet extending transversely across the lower portion thereof and an air outlet extending transversely across the upper portion thereof, a heat radiating unit mounted within said enclosure inwardly of said air inlet and accessible therethrough,:` said heat radiating unit comprising a pair of tubular headers with interconnecting iinned tubes, said tubular headers having piping connections at right angles to said tubes, a steam l supply valve and a thermostatic trap having inlets 'and outlets at substantiallyright angles, said inlets and outlets being provided with universal pipe connecting means having ball jointed unions each comprising, a ball-shaped body portion, a nipple provided with socket means, a nut for holding said socket against said ball-shaped body portion, said nut and socket being so constructed and arranged that with angular setting of said nipple with respect to said ball-shaped body portion annular contact between the cooperating members is maintained, said steam supply valve and thermostatic trap having their outlet and inlet respectively `communicating directly with said piping connections in said tubular headers, and means on said steam supply valve'and thermostatic trap to support and gradesaid heat radiating unit, said steam supply valve inlet and said thermostatic trap outlet providing for connection to the supply and return piping respectively of a heating system.

3. In a radiator structure having a pair of headers with interconnecting tubes, said headers having piping connections at right angles to said tubes, a steam supply valve and a thermostatic trap having therein inlets and outlets at substantially right angles, said valve and trap having their outlet and inlet respectively directly connecting said piping connections in said headers, and ball jointed unions on said trap and valve providing iiexibility of connection to the piping of a heating system, said unions each comprising, aball-shaped body portion, a nipple provided with socket means, a nut for holding said socket against said ball-shaped body portion, said nut and socket being so constructed and arranged that with angular setting of said nipple with respect to said ball-shaped body portion annular contact between the cooperating members is maintained.

4. In a radiator structure having a pair of headers with interconnecting tubes, said headers having piping connections at right angles to said tubes, a steam supply valve and a thermostatic trap having therein inlets and outlets at substantially right angles, said valve and trap having their outlet and inlet respectively directly connecting said piping connections in said headers, and ball jointed unions on said trap and valve providing exibility of connection to the piping of a heating system, each ball jointed union comprising a Banged nipple, a ball member and a flanged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating flange faces of the nipple and nut of subcontact annularly regardless of alignment of the tubes, a steam supply valvefand a thermostatic trap having therein inlets and outlets at substantially right angles,said valve and trap having their outlet and inlet respectively directly connecting said piping connections in said headers, ball jointed unions on said trap and valve providing flexibility of connection to the piping of a heating system, each ball jointed union comprisinga flanged nipple, a ball member and a anged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating flange faces of the nipple and nut contact annularly regardless of alignment of the nipple and ball member, and separate means on said valve and trap for adjusting the pitch of said tubes.

6. In a radiator structure having a pair of headers with interconnecting tubes, said headers having piping connections at right angles to said tubes, a steam supply valve and a thermostatic trap having therein inlets and outlets at substantially right angles, said valve and trap having their outlet and inlet respectively directly connecting said piping connections in said headers, and ball jointed unions adjacent the inlet and outlet connections of both valve and trap for providing flexibility of connection to the piping of a heating system, each ball jointed union comprising a flanged nipple, a ball member and a anged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating flange faces of the nipple and nut Contact annularly regardless of alignment of the nipple and ball member.

7. A thermostatic trap for steam radiators,

comprising an upper and a lower chamber, a port between said chambers, inboard thermostatic means controlling said port, a vertical inlet connection for the radiator leading into the upper chamber, a horizontal outlet connection for a return pipe leading from the other chamber, ball jointed unions adjacent the inlet and outlet connections for providing flexibility of connection, each ball jointed union comprising a ilanged nipple, a ball member and a anged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating flange faces of the nipple and nut contact annularly regardless of alignment of the nipple and ball member, and lugs provided with adjustable feet for plumbing and supporting said radiator.

8. A valve for radiators, comprising a casing having a hollow body, a partition dividing the same into two compartments, a port in said partition, a valve controlling said port, means for connection to a radiator, like inlets at right angles to said connecting means, a ball jointed member for selectively connecting one of said inlets and the steam supply pipe, means closing the other inlet, feet on said valve, and means adjustable in said feet for supporting said radiator, said means for connection to the radiator and said ball jointed member each provided with a union comprising a flanged nipple, a ball member and a anged nut for securing the nipple member to the ball member, and being so constructed that the cooperating ilange faces of the nipple and nut contact annularly regardless of alignment of the nipple and ball member.

CLIFFORD J. SCHLAFMAN. 

